Diriyah Tennis Cup: Daniil Medvedev wins tournament and $1m prize

Daniil Medvedev won the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia and the Russian took home a healthy winner’s prize for his success.

Russian star Daniil Medvedev has spent much of the 2019 season on the ATP Tour winning events and he added another title to his collection in the first edition of the Diriyah Tennis Cup.

Medvedev came out on top in the first tennis tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia, taking home a $1 million prize for his victory.

The world number five defeated Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 in the final of an event which was held at the Diriyah Arena in the outskirts of Riyadh.

Medvedev enjoyed a remarkable second half to a year where he won four ATP Tour titles and reached the US Open final, losing a five-set thriller to Rafael Nadal.

He maintained that momentum at the Diriyah Tennis Cup, winning all three of his matches. In the quarterfinal, he defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3 6-1 before he got the better of David Goffin 6-3 6-3 in the last four.

https://twitter.com/DaniilMedwed/status/1205927003725139969

This three-day tournament is an exhibition event but Medvedev said after the final he was delighted to be the first winner in case the event goes on to have a long history.

"“I am very happy to be the first who won here,” he said after a Diriyah Tennis Cup final win over Fognini that took just over an hour.“If it’s going to go on for example for 20 years, it will be very cool to be the first one.“I just tried to give my best, do my job and entertaining the crowd a little bit. The crowd was not that big but people were cheering and the ceremony it was really amazing and cool.“So I have just great memories. Of course I always try to serve as good as I can and that was a big strength of my match. My main goal is to win every match I play – of course it is not possible, but my goal.”"

Other players involved in the Diriyah Tennis Cup included Gael Monfils and John Isner, both of whom lost to Fognini. The Italian, who cracked the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time during 2019, enjoyed a good week.

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka was another big name at the tournament and he was a first-round loser to Monfils.

A busy preseason for Medvedev was due to continue with the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi next week.

He was set to come up against Hyeon Chung in the last eight of an event that will also feature the world’s top two players, Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

However, reports have suggested he will withdraw from the event to recover from a hip problem. The Mubadala World Tennis Championship is yet to confirm the news or announce a replacement, but if there is a fitness issue, it would be wise for Medvedev to rest now.

Once the 2020 ATP Tour season arrives, Medvedev will represent Russia at the ATP Cup, before being the top seed of the ASB Classic in Auckland.

Then comes the Australian Open in Mebourne, with the Russian undoubtedly one of the top players to watch outside of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer given his magnificent recent record on hard courts.

The Diriyah Tennis Cup may have been an exhibition, but three straight wins against decent opposition will do Daniil Medvedev no harm ahead of a year where he looks to increase his challenge to the big three.